An Ashford Christmas
by Sir Badassington
Summary: Just a small piece of fluff I wrote some time ago. Just one Christmas in the Ashford household. Alfred/Alexia


The blond haired ten year old scampered back and forth through the hallways. There were only a couple of days left for him to find a present for his beloved sister. He kept running when he hit something and fell onto his backside. If it was one of those clumsy servants, he'd take care of it. He growled and looked up, opening his mouth to yell out some sort of curse but quickly closed it. It was his father.

"What are you doing out so late, boy?" Alexander asked. Alfred stood up and brushed himself off, looking innocently up at his father. "Well… um… I… I couldn't sleep and… I just… thought… running around… would help?" he said with a small nervous laugh. Alfred groaned inwardly. That was brilliant. They boy stared at his father, who was obviously not convinced. "And why are you really out here?" he asked.

Alfred groaned and looked down at the ground. "Well… it's… it's nearly Christmas and… I… was looking for a gift… for Alexia…" he mumbled shyly, a small blush creeping across his cheeks. His comment was met with an outburst of laughter from Alexander. "Christmas? We haven't celebrated that in years! Why now?" he asked curiously.

"Because… I just… felt like it!" he said, glaring at his father for a moment before running off. He couldn't waste time. He had to find the perfect gift, which was hard to do seeing there were no shops on Rockfort Island, and the only thing that came in was food. At first Alfred had tried writing poetry, but he couldn't think of anything suitable that rhymed with Goddess. Then he'd tried sowing her a doll, but that didn't work out and he had the cuts all over his hand to prove it.

He thought baking her something would be a good idea, but he just got very messy and very burnt. And the pie he baked her looked more like mush. Burnt mush. Now there was barely any time left. He stopped and put his hand against the wall, panting softly. It was late. He could continue looking tomorrow. Disappointed, he skulked toward his room, opening the door and collapsing on his bed. But he didn't get any sleep. He was up all night, thinking of the perfect gift.

Alfred sighed heavily when he got out of bed the next morning. There wasn't a lot of time left. Tomorrow was Christmas. Put simply, he was pretty screwed. He glanced over at the small corner of his room where he had thrown ribbons and rapping paper on the ground. He glared at them, wishing he had a present that he could have actually used them for. He continued staring, an idea slowly coming into his head. He grinned and rushed over to his desk, pulling out his notepaper and scribbling down a quick note.

'_My dearest sister Alexia._

_Meet me in our secret spot tomorrow at mid-day for something special._

_Love Alfred.'_

The handwriting was rather messy, but he didn't care. He'd never been good with writing. He rushed out of his room and around to Alexia's room, quietly opening the door. She wasn't in there. She must have been researching or something. He put the note on her desk and grinned, rather proud of himself, before slipping out of her room and heading down to the kitchen to order someone or other to make him some breakfast.

He spent the rest of the day planning and scheming, thinking about what he was going to say. Occasionally he saw Alexia walk by and all he could do was give a weak little wave and a small 'hello'.

He went to bed that night with a great feeling of satisfaction, knowing the gift he had in mind may not have been perfect, but it came straight from the heart. And wasn't that what Christmas was all about?

Alexia had come back to her room later in the day, rather surprised to see the note on her desk. She walked over to it, picking it up and looking over it quickly. With handwriting that messy, it could only be one person. Alfred. She couldn't help but smile as she read it, cocking an eyebrow. Why did Alfred want to meet her in their secret place? Tomorrow… what was so special about tomorrow? She knew it was Christmas, but she couldn't remember actually celebrating it since she was five or so.

Then again, Alfred was strange. She wouldn't be surprised if it was Christmas. She went the whole day, half distracted from her studies, thoughts of what it could possibly be running through her head. It was really starting to frustrate her. She thought of asking Alfred, but knew she wouldn't get any answers out of him. When Alfred had something planned, he made sure never to give anything away, no matter how much she tortured him.

Once Alfred had kept a secret from her. She ignored him for days, until she found out what it was. Alfred had been preparing a present for her birthday. She never thought something as simple as a cake could leave her feeling like such a fool. Even if the cake was lopsided, and more icing then cake. But she hadn't minded all that much.

She decided not to put too much thought into it as she went to bed that night, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time. But it didn't work. She was awake for hours, wondering what it could possibly be. Eventually she got to sleep, even if it was only for a couple of hours.

When she awoke, she saw it was nearly time for her to go to their meeting place. She sighed, making her way to Alfred's room. The ladder was already down at his bed. Alfred must have already gone up. She made her way up the ladder and was stunned by what she saw. The whole room was decorated. There were flashing lights bordering the walls as well as their small caracal.

The floors were coated with fake snow, and there was even a small snowman in the corner. Mistletoe hung almost everywhere and she couldn't help but giggle. Alfred must have been working at this for hours. As she was looking around, she heard a small cough. Obviously Alfred trying to get her attention.

"Don't you want your present?" she heard him ask in a soft voice. Alexia looked to where it had come from. Alfred was standing at the corner of the room, a heavy blush on his cheeks, staring down at his boots. "Present…?" Alexia asked curiously, watching as Alfred walked over to her, never looking her in the eye.

She then noticed something about him she hadn't noticed before. On his head there was a rather large and neatly tied purple bow. "Y…yes… I… I looked around forever for something perfect, but then I realised nothing was good enough for you. And then I thought to myself, someone needs to protect this perfection and…" he blushed heavily as he looked up, the most serious look he could muster on his face.

"I thought… maybe… you'd like a soldier? Or at least someone who likes you for who you are, and not just for how you look or for how smart you are," he murmured softly. Alexia smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Alfred… that's a perfect gift. I couldn't think of anything better fitting for a Queen such as myself," she said with a soft laugh. Alfred smiled at her, feeling rather proud of himself.

"Really? You mean it?" he asked, beginning to laugh. Alexia nodded again. "Yes… but… I don't have anything for you," she said with a small sigh. Alfred paused for a moment, pulling away from the hug and staring at her. "I know what I want… I want you to promise me you'll never leave me alone. Ever!" he said and pouted.

His twin nodded. "Alright then… I promise I'll never leave you alone. I'll always be by your side, brother," she said, petting him gently on the head. "Oh. And… there's one other thing you could do for me," he said and smiled nervously. Alexia stared at him curiously. "Yes…?"

"You could take this ribbon off my head. It's rather itchy," he said and frowned. Alexia laughed and nodded, gently taking the ribbon off his head and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Alfred smiled and glanced over at the table he'd set up. "Now… can we have some cake?" he asked. Alexia nodded and watched as Alfred ran over to the table, taking a slice of the cake he'd had one of the cooks prepare.

Alexia walked over and looked down at the set up. There was cake, but it seemed there were no roasts or anything else. Typical Alfred. Always wanted to eat sweet things. She then eyed the reindeer antlers on the table. "What are these for?" she asked, picking them up. Alfred paused for a moment and smirked. "Could you put them on for a moment?" he asked, rushing over to a small cabinet and rummaging through them, pulling out a camera and grinning.

Alexia laughed and nodded, putting the antlers on, grinning happily as Alfred took a photo.


End file.
